Photo by Andrew Dowd More on Flickr »
Despite the inquisitive nature of their name, WHY? made it a point not to leave many questions unanswered on Wednesday night at the Firebird. Armed with tambourines, maracas, and a distinct vocal style combining singsong melodies and fast-paced rhymes, lead singer Yoni Wolf swayed with the mic and delivered, compelling the audience standing only a few inches away in the intimate venue.Wolf and the other members of WHY? led the audience on a journey including songs from all three of the band’s full length albums and displaying an impressive range of sounds, from the driving bass and rhythmic vocals of “The Vowels Pt. 2” to the xylophone-heavy and melodic “January Twenty Something.” The band worked their way through the well-sequenced set quickly and skillfully, stopping only to exchange jokes or for Wolf to freestyle and sing several bars from “Meet Me in St. Louis,” which appropriately evoked a loud cheer from the crowd.
Songs from the band’s sophomore effort Alopecia had a particularly galvanizing effect on the audience, but even during tunes from their latest release Eskimo Snow they maintained the same intensity. Their ability to recreate live the sudden transitions between the soft and melodic and the loud and rhythmic in the studio was displayed notably in “These Few Presidents,” as the soaring guitars dropped out and the crowd sang along with Wolf: “Even though I haven’t seen you in years, yours is a funeral I’d fly to from anywhere.” After an entire performance full of these moments illustrating WHY’s high level of musicianship and energy, the band returned for the encore – an unexpected version of a song from one of Wolf’s old projects. Having further demonstrated their range of abilities, the group called it an evening, and the crowd was left with only one question: why stop?
Incredible pictures. Really, top-notch stuff.